This invention relates to a packaging arrangement for housing fragile articles for the transport thereof and more particularly to a packaging arrangement for housing U-shaped fluorescent lamps therein.
The packaging of fragile articles provides a difficult problem when it is desired to transport such articles in the usual stream of commerce, even though such packages containing the fragile articles are marked with warnings that the contents must be handled with care. The packages are subject to mishandling causing an undue amount of breakage. This is particularly true with respect to such odd shaped fragile articles as U-shaped fluorescent lamps. Among the requirements for packaging such articles are to keep any outside blow from actually hitting or coming into contact with the article thereby breaking it. Also, any outside forces applied to the packaging must be reduced by the time they reach the product in order to protect the product from breakage, and further it is desirable to retain the product in its container in such a fashion that it does not move therein. This is particularly so with an article such as a U-shaped fluorescent lamp in which the U or the bent portion of the lamp is particularly vulnerable and any undue movement or shock thereof is liable to cause the breakage of the lamp. One ready solution to the problem is to heavily wrap the lamps with absorbent material such as foam or layers of corrugated cardboard in order to space the U-shaped lamp from the sides of the containers and to provide enough insulation to absorb any shock from reaching the product. However, these methods are expensive, time consuming and accordingly uneconomical.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved packaging arrangement for housing a plurality of U-shaped fluorescent lamps for limiting the amount of breakage connected with the shipment thereof.
A further object of this invention is to provide a new and improved packaging means for U-shaped fluorescent lamps which is economical.
Still a further object of this invention is to provide a new and improved packaging means for a plurality of U-shaped fluorescent lamps which is suitable for use in the mass transport or shipment of the lamps.